1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to computerized transaction processing (e.g., bill paying) systems. In particular, the present invention pertains to a computerized system for facilitating customer payments to creditors from a remote site.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Generally, consumer creditors (e.g., utility companies, banks, credit card companies, department stores, etc.) periodically send billing statements (i.e., bills) notifying customers of account balances and requesting payment. A customer typically remits payment to the creditor in the form of a check within a reasonable period after receiving the billing statement. Alternatively, customers may arrange to have payments automatically transferred from a customer""s bank account to a creditor""s account by electronic transfer. This relieves the customer from performing the cumbersome task of completing and mailing a check each billing period, and incurs a savings to the customer since the customer does not need to purchase stamps to mail payments.
In addition, there are several prior art systems that facilitate customer payment of bills to creditors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,501 (Lawlor et al) discloses a system enabling a customer to communicate with a service provider computer from a remote computer site, preferably the customer""s home, to facilitate bill paying and/or banking functions. The service provider computer accesses the customer bank computer to selectively perform several banking functions (e.g., account balance inquiries, transfer of funds between accounts, etc.) and pay bills by electronically transferring funds from the customer""s account.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,959 (Perazzo) discloses a system that enables customer payment of bills to creditors via electronic fund transfers from a customer bank account based on forms submitted by the customer to the customer bank indicating the creditor to receive payment and the payment amount.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,351,994 (Pollin) and 5,504,677 (Pollin) disclose a system that enables customer payment of bills to creditors by generating a draft payable to the creditor and drawn on the customer""s bank account wherein the creditor executes the draft as an authorized signatory for the customer and deposits the payment in the creditor account.
The prior art suffers from several significant disadvantages. Specifically, the prior art systems generally rely on computers or other devices to enable customer payment to creditors by electronically transferring funds between customer and creditor bank accounts. However, these systems are unavailing for customers who do not have either a computer or other communication device, or a checking or other bank account. Further, prior art systems are typically limited to facilitating customer payment to creditors with a specific type of payment (e.g., electronic fund transfer), and do not accommodate customers that desire, or are only able, to pay creditors with some other form of payment, such as cash. Moreover, a customer using prior art systems typically must authorize and arranges for electronic transfer of funds with the creditor and/or bank in order to enable payment to creditors. This authorization process generally includes submission of various forms by the customer and/or creditor to the customer bank and creditor bank, thereby imposing additional burdens on the parties involved. Although creditors may have offices that are capable of receiving customer payments in various payment forms (e.g., cash), these payments must be received and processed in the creditor""s offices during creditor office hours. This is especially distressing for customers that need to make emergency payments (e.g., payments due that day) to avoid lateness and/or other penalties when the creditor""s offices are closed.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to facilitate customer payment to creditors with various forms of payment (e.g., check, cash, credit card, etc.) from a remote site (e.g., a local retail establishment).
It is another object of the present invention to facilitate customer payment to creditors from remote sites (e.g., local retail establishments) commonly having substantial business hours, thereby enabling customers to pay creditors from remote sites during respective remote site business hours typically spanning a substantial portion of a day.
Yet another object of the present invention is to facilitate customer payment to creditors from a remote site without requiring the customer to authorize, register for, or pre-arrange the payment transaction with the creditor.
Still another object of the present invention is to reduce payment processing costs for creditors by arranging for a single payment to the creditor for numerous customer accounts.
The aforesaid objects are achieved individually and in combination, and it is not intended that the present invention be construed as requiring two or more of the objects to be combined unless expressly required by the claims attached hereto.
According to the present invention, a system for facilitating customer payment to creditors from a remote site includes a plurality of agent computer systems with each agent computer system residing at a different remote site associated with an agent (e.g., a local retail establishment), and a host computer system residing at a site associated with a service provider wherein the host computer system is configured to be in selective communication with each of the agent computer systems. A plurality of creditor computer systems typically reside at different sites associated with creditors (e.g., utility or other companies) affiliated or under contract with the service provider, wherein the creditor computer systems are preferably in selective communication with the host computer system. A customer using the system for the first time typically visits one of the remote sites and tenders payment, preferably manually, in response to receiving a creditor billing statement (i.e., bill). Information relating to the customer, including name, address and customer account number with the creditor are entered into the agent system at that remote site along with the payment amount, and a receipt containing transaction information is printed and conveyed to the customer. Each transaction for a first time customer-user of the system is processed at a remote site in substantially the same manner described above. The remote computer system at each remote site maintains information for all transactions occurring daily at that site. If a customer chooses to use the system a second or subsequent time by paying a bill at the same agent location, the stored information for that customer can be accessed and used to avoid having to obtain and process that information.
Each agent computer system transmits their daily transaction information to the host computer system at a predetermined time, preferably the closing time for the business at the respective remote site. The host system receives the transaction information from each agent system and sorts the information to create a transaction report for each creditor affiliated or under contract with the service provider. Once the transaction reports are generated, the reports are transmitted to the appropriate creditor computer systems in order to credit customer payments to the corresponding customer accounts. Alternatively, the host computer system may generate transaction reports for each creditor affiliated with the service provider, and send the reports to the creditors in any conventional manner (e.g., facsimile, ground transport mail, etc.). Creditors may use the reports to apply the customer payments to the appropriate customer accounts in any conventional manner (e.g., enter the payments into the creditor computer system). The system operator or service provider receives funds from each of the agents and pays each of the creditors via electronic fund transfer or other conventional payment form. The host system generates a closeout report containing transaction information for all transactions occurring at the respective remote sites. The report is typically printed at a predetermined time after all the transaction information has been received from the remote computer systems.
The present invention may be additionally utilized for other applications, such as purchasing money orders or telephone cards (e.g., pre-paid cards enabling the card holder to place telephone calls incurring fees up to the pre-paid amount), in substantially the same manner described above except that each of the remote computer systems includes a peripheral printer or other device to generate the money orders or telephone cards, respectively, and the transaction reports are sent to the respective money order or telephone companies.